Foot patrol drives home
Katherine Harding

They walk, they ride, and soon they might drive.

At Thursday night's Students' Union board meeting, directors unanimously passed a motion to investigate the feasibility of acquiring a Students' Union van for the WLU Foot Patrol Program.

Foot Patrol Coordinator John Hilson is confident there is a market for this new service.

"Our biggest complaint is waiting time," said Hilson. "The van would reduce the demand on our walking teams."

"It wouldn't only help with distant walks, but would also help when 3-4 people may be going to the same destination … it is a viable alternative that wouldn't detract from our walk home program," he added.

The WLU Foot Patrol program operates with 120 volunteers and averages 4800 walks a year.

Hilson and his department have done their homework to get the drive project this far. They have researched similar drive home programs at the three Ontario universities, conducted a focus group, introduced the concept to the University administration (the University contributes financially to the operation of the program) and have started the development of vehicle operation procedures.

Research into insurance, liability, and driver training costs is also underway.

"Anyone I talk to is supportive of the idea," said Hilson. "However, the number one concern is insurance."

"We obviously aren't going anywhere without sponsorship," he added.

Hilson would like to develop a sponsorship package to help with the process of arranging sponsorship agreements with companies and the University.

"Hopefully by the end of the year we'll have the van and then we can use the summer months to prepare for a full launch in the fall," said Hilson. "However, I'd like to get the planning down without jumping in."